Crunch! Gee! Sorry - I Just Drove Over Your Laptop!

OK - what are we talking about here? There's rugged and then there's R-U-G-G-E-D! The need for rugged handheld computers in industrial markets is widespread. Units are constantly in operation moving from the factory floor to the freezer to the yard or from one field location to the next. Durability requirements vary significantly from a laptop used in the plane, hotel room or office. Hand-held computers are dropped or crushed under a load of materials or supplies. Their circuitry is under more stress than the usual indoor unit.

There are no industry wide certification standards for ruggedized computers, so comparison is difficult. Most vendors have test results from their own labs or third-party labs. When you're trying to compare offerings ask for hard copies of the drop tests. While your equipment will probably not be subjected to 200 drops from 6 feet, you'll have a great margin of safety if you choose a system that has. Vendors should also provide "shake-and-bake" tests -- high- and low-temperature variations, plus vibration-test results. Durability is costly, but worth it if your gear is working in harsh environments.

If you are looking for specific features in a rugged handheld computer , better check the available options pretty carefully. I'm thinking shock resistant, waterproof or water resistant (big difference!), dust proof, sunlight readable display, reliability, extremes of temperature, vibration, support and warranty. The most demanding of environments are seen by the military in various operational zones, in potentially explosive environments, medical applications and commercially for mobile workers in forestry, commercial freezers, meter reading, asset management, inspections, agriculture, surveying, and parking enforcement.

Now in some of those specifics, there maybe exists an independent standard. Units meeting those standards are likely to have sales people who will trumpet that fact to the roof and where units do not meet those standards, the sales guy is going to want you to move on to something else real quick..So let's look that some of those particular measures and then talk availability and cost.

Take them in order then. First off, the shock resistance. There really two elements to consider against shock. The first is how much force in grams can the unit withstand without significant damage and the other is how big a drop the unit can take. As a indicator of what is likely to happen to your notebook, research done by IDC [International Data Corporation] 64% of notebook damage is caused by drops, 38% by spills, and 28% by crushing while LCDs and HDDs are reported to be the two components most often cited as suffering damage.

Waterproof and water resistant.Leave the unit outside. How many inches of rainfall an hour can the unit withstand. Can the unit e fully immersed. How long for?

Dust resistance can be measured by NEMA ratings. Units with sealed chassis are rated on a point scale.

The range of cost will depend on the basic unit and it's capability regardless of the construction feature features built in to give it that rugged label. So first fir the unit to your purpose and then see just how rugged the product range is when compared with competition and cost.